A Random Encounter
by youkaiwhipsandblades
Summary: A random encounter will change several lives forever. For OC profiles look at my profile page. Kouga/OC, Sesshomaru/OC, Inutaisho/OC, Kagome/OC, Sesshomaru's Mother/Miroku, and Inuyasha/Sango.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own any of the characters from Inuyasha. I only own my original characters: Jovan, Yoake (Dawn), Chūjitsuna (Loyal), and Itazura (Mischief), the other smaller less important characters that aren't mentioned in Inuyasha, and the ideas for the story. Any resemblance to any other Fanfics is purely coincidental since I haven't read anything like this story.

A Random Encounter

Prologue

It was another beautiful day in Feudal Era Japan. The birds were singing, the cherry trees were in bloom and all seemed right with the world. Well, as right as it can get when Kouga, the Taiyoukai of the Eastern Lands, and Inuyasha were once again fighting over Kagome. This meeting followed the same pattern as all the other meetings. It was as if the meetings were scripted or something.

Kagome would always sense two Shikon Jewel shards approaching fast. Inuyasha would smell the scent of wolf and growl about the "mangy wolf" while trying to keep Kagome behind him. By this time Miroku, Sango, Kirara, and Shippo would all just roll their eyes and watch the drama unfold. It was always a bit amusing. Kouga would breeze past Inuyasha, grab ahold of Kagome's hands, and ask how "His Woman" was. Inuyasha would start yelling and threatening, Kagome would get extremely embarrassed, and Kouga and Inuyasha would trade insults. After that two of Kouga's pack mates, Ginta and Hakkaku, would get close to catching up to Kouga, and he would take off in a cloud of dust, telling Inuyasha to take care of "His Woman." Poor Ginta and Hakkaku wouldn't even get to catch their breath before they had to take off after their Alpha once again, though Ginta would always take the time to tell his "Little Sis" Kagome hi before trying once again to catch up with Kouga. Then Inuyasha would usually yell at Kagome for not letting him kill "the mangy wolf" which would result in Kagome getting pissed off, yelling "Sit" and Inuyasha getting pounded into the ground, forming an Inuyasha shaped crater in the ground. While Inuyasha cursed and waited for the spell to wear off, the rest of the group would set up camp and gather the fire wood and water. That was pretty much the routine whenever Kouga would show up.

The whole group—except for the jealous idiot Inuyasha—felt really sorry for poor Kagome. Ever since the wolf youkai had kidnapped her three years ago, Kouga had been periodically showing up to see "His Woman." No matter how many times Kagome tried to tell him that she just wanted to be friends he still called her his. What the group didn't know was that Kouga had realized two years ago that he was never going to win Kagome for himself since she was in love with Inuyasha.

Kouga had long since given up on actually claiming Kagome and now thought of her as a good friend and an imōto in his pack. He had two reasons for keeping up the act that he was trying to win her. The first reason was that he was trying to get Inuyasha to realize that Kagome was a better choice of mate then the dead priestess, Kikyo. Kouga knew that Inuyasha loved Kagome and he wanted the stupid half breed to wake up and realize it himself.

The second reason Kouga kept up the act was simply that he really enjoyed annoying Inuyasha. He had tons of fun insulting him, sparring with him, and flirting with Kagome. He may not think of her as a potential mate anymore, but she was still a pretty girl and it was always fun to see her blush. Besides, since Ayame had decided to mate with Takeo, leader of the red wolf tribe, instead of waiting for him to get his revenge on Naraku, he didn't have to worry about any jealous wolf-bitch trying to hurt Kagome.

It was shortly after Kouga had left Inuyasha and his group that he came across the stench of Naraku. Swiftly changing direction, he ran toward the source of the smell. Within two minutes he came to a clearing that would have been beautiful if not for the deep gouges in the earth. In the clearing he saw the wind Kagura; the black haired woman was facing away from him using her Dance of Blades to send blades of light at a person at the other side of the clearing. He figured that anyone who would fight against one of Naraku's minions could be an ally. So while Kagura was too busy to notice him, he ran at full speed and kicked her with the full power of the Shikon Jewel shard in his right leg. Kouga could hear ribs break as Kagura went crashing into a tree. Unfortunately Kagura was quick to recover and before he could deliver another blow she took a feather from her hair, enlarged it and escaped.

"Damn you, you mangy wolf, you're always getting in my way. Someday soon your shards will belong to Naraku." She said as she fled from battle. Kouga would have given chase if he hadn't heard a moan of pain and smelled blood coming from the other side of the clearing. He started over to the figure that was leaning heavily on a tree trunk when the wind changed directions and brought a familiar scent to him. He looked closer at the figure, trying to figure out why his nose was telling him that Inuyasha was there, when the person he was seeing was clearly a woman.

Sure her long silvery hair was like Inuyasha's, but there were streaks of black running through it. She also had dog-like ears like Inuyasha, but the tips of hers were black and Inuyasha didn't have a silver tail with black streaks like she did. Her skin was a fair as Inuyasha's half-brother, Sesshomaru's was, and had plum-purple markings extending out from her eyelids, giving her an exotic look. She did have the same gold color eyes that Inuyasha had, but the expression in her eyes was softer, less jaded.

She was wearing black silk hakamas with a silver ivy design that wrapped around her right leg from her ankle to about mid-thigh, a black haori with the same silver ivy trailing down the left sleeve from her shoulder, a silver and purple sash that held a white sheath on her left side, and spiked bone and leather armor that looked a lot like the kind that Sesshomaru wore, but smaller. Her tail was draped over her right shoulder, much like Sesshomaru held his tail. The sword hilt that Kouga could see was wrapped with red leather and had a large emerald in the pommel, there was a faint youki to the sword, but it seemed to be muted by the white sheath. Everything about her reminded Kouga of either Inuyasha or Sesshomaru and he could tell by the quality of her clothes that she was wealthy, if not an aristocrat. Kouga stopped a good distance from the woman, not wanting to get too close in case she saw him as a threat and tried to attack.

"You ok?" Kouga asked. The woman raised her head and looked him in the eye. There was no fear in her gaze.

"I'll be alright in a few minutes," she said, her voice was soft and pleasing to Kouga's ears. "Thank you for helping me, but I'll be fine. My aniki is going to meet me here and he doesn't always get along well with others. He will be here in a couple of minutes, so it may be best if you continued on your way."

"Sorry, I'm not leaving an injured woman out here by herself. Besides, I want to know why one of Naraku's minions was attacking you." Kouga answered. The woman looked at him for a moment before she shrugged and started checking over her wounds.

"Who is Naraku? I have no clue why I was attacked, but my aniki will make sure that the youkai who attacked me pays for the insult. Now you really should go; aniki will take care of me if these minor injuries haven't completely healed when he gets here." She replied.

"No way am I leaving before your aniki gets here. Kagura or one of Naraku's other incarnations could show up and finish you off before your aniki gets here. Or even worse, we are on the border of Inuyasha's Forest and the Western Lands. You should wait for you aniki further away from the Western Lands. Lord Sesshomaru dislikes hanyous, and you smell enough like his half-brother, Inuyasha, that he'll probably kill you on sight." Kouga said.

"I didn't know Lord Sesshomaru had a half-brother, and you say he smells like me," she replied. "Well obviously someone has been keeping secrets from me. Aniki, please come out from behind that tree, it's not nice to spy on people."

"Assessing a situation is not spying, dear imōto. Had I rushed in when I first arrived Lord Kouga would be dead and then I would have a war with the Eastern Lands to deal with." A cold, emotionless voice answered as Lord Sesshomaru stepped into the clearing. His face was as emotionless as his voice, and could send a grown youkai running for his mommy.

"Is there a good reason why you have kept this Inuyasha a secret from me? Does Lady Mother know about him?" The woman asked.

"Yes." Sesshomaru replied, but from the tone of his voice it was clear that he was unwilling to explain further.

"Well, I suppose I'll have to ask Lady Mother about this Inuyasha." The woman turned back to Kouga and bowed, "Thank you for your concern, Lord Kouga. It was a pleasure meeting you; my name is Lady Jovan. Perhaps we will meet again someday."

Kouga cocked his head to the side and studied Lady Jovan. She really was an attractive woman and Kouga decided right then that he wanted to know her better. Then he looked at Sesshomaru and smirked.

_'I can't wait to see the reaction on Inuyasha's face when he finds out what Lord Sesshomaru has been keeping from him. I wonder if the brothers would object to having a wolf in the family,'_ Kouga thought.

"It nice meeting you too, Lady Jovan, and I look forward to getting to know you better. Lord Sesshomaru, it was nice seeing you again as well. You might want to keep an eye on Inuyasha, though. Most of the Shikon jewel shards have been found, so the day we defeat Naraku is not far off. I know that you want be there for his defeat as much as I do," Kouga said.

"Perhaps it is time to see if Inuyasha would care to try working together. Come, imōto, it is time for you to head back to Mother's palace," Sesshomaru replied as he started walking away, escorting Lady Jovan towards the west, then paused and looked back at Kouga.

"Lord Kouga, should I find out that you have told Inuyasha anything, I will be most displeased," Sesshomaru commented. Kouga quickly caught the thinly veiled threat and smirked.

"Inuyasha won't hear anything from me, Lord Sesshomaru. It's none of my business what information you choose to give your half-brother," Kouga assured him.

"Good. After Naraku is defeated I will be sure to invite you to the annual harvest fair. I'm sure Lady Jovan will need an escort, since this will be her first time attending," Sesshomaru remarked. Lady Jovan looked over at Sesshomaru and smiled.

"Does this mean that I will be moving into the Western Palace this year, Aniki? I have waited so long to be able to meet more people. It gets quiet lonely at Lady Mother's palace," Jovan asked.

"Yes, imōto, it does," He replied as he looked down at Jovan. Sesshomaru didn't show any change in his expression, but Jovan could see that her aniki was just as happy about her moving into his palace as she was.

"Then will you be the one to tell me about this Inuyasha Lord Kouga mentioned or will I have to go to Lady Mother?" She inquired with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"I will explain everything once Naraku is defeated and you have moved into the palace. Until then you will refrain from questioning Mother; she is sensitive when it comes to talking about Inuyasha," Sesshomaru told her.

"Very well, Aniki," she said then she looked over at Kouga. "I look forward to attending the harvest fair with you, Lord Kouga. Thank you once again for the help with that Kagura woman," Jovan said as she and Sesshomaru started walking. Within seconds Kouga couldn't even smell them; they seemed to have just disappeared.

Shortly after they left, Ginta and Hakkaku finally managed to catch up to him. When Kouga didn't immediately take off again, the two wolf youkai sat down to catch their breath.

"Hey Kouga, we camping here for the night?" Ginta asked.

"Yeah. You two go scare up some dinner and get some rest. Tomorrow we have another long day of hunting for Naraku. Be careful though, Kagura was here earlier," Kouga answered.

_'Funny how a random encounter can change your life,'_ Kouga thought with a smirk. _'Two random encounters have brought the two most interesting women into my life. I just hope Lady Jovan isn't already in love with someone else; 'cause I think I just found my new woman. I can't wait to see mutt-face's reaction to this.'_

It was with that thought in mind that Kouga settled down for the night, and the beautiful day in Feudal Era Japan faded into night.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

**With Kagome**

It had been three months since the epic final battle with Naraku had taken place. The battle had been fierce, but with Inuyasha, Sesshomaru wielding Bakusaiga, and Kagome combining their attacks they were able to destroy Naraku. Sango, Miroku, and Kouga, with the help of Kirara and Shippo, took care of the army of lesser youkai and Naraku's incarnations. Kouga had finally avenged his fallen pack mates and Sango was able to save Kohaku.

In a last ditch effort to avoid defeat, Naraku had attacked Inuyasha from behind just as Inuyasha had released the final blow that help defeat Naraku. If it hadn't been for Kikyo sacrificing herself, Inuyasha would have died from the attack. Inuyasha was able to make his peace with Kikyo, the instant she had seen the attack, her true personality had shone through the hatred and bitterness that had kept her alive. Her dying wish was for Inuyasha to have a long and happy life. The only thing she wished for herself was peace; she knew that her time in the world of the living was over. Inuyasha reburied her ashes beneath the Sacred Tree.

Sango and Miroku had decided not to marry right away. Sango still had some doubts about her relationship with Miroku, seeing how he still had a wandering hand and constantly flirted with other women. Miroku was also having some second thoughts, since Sango didn't seem to trust him and was sometimes a little too violent when his hand would wander. Kohaku decided to rebuild the Youkai Slayer village, and found plenty of people who were willing to help him and train. Though there were going to be some changes, such as the slayers would no longer be taught that all youkai were evil, and would only slay the ones who were out of control or dangerous to ningens.

Kagome had offered Inuyasha the Shikon Jewel to make a wish, but he was finally happy with who he was and told her to keep it. Inuyasha and Kagome had finally realized that though they loved each other, they were not in love with each other. The love they felt was that of best friends or siblings instead of romantic. Kagome had been able to finally finish high school, and had decided to remain in the Feudal Era until she figured out what to do about the Shikon Jewel. Kagome had no idea what to wish for to purify the Jewel, thus the Jewel was once again worn on a necklace and carried with her at all times. It was with the question of what to wish for on Kagome's mind as she sat by the Bone Eater's Well that Jaken found her.

"Wench, Lord Sesshomaru sent this message for you. I was instructed to wait here for you to discuss things with the hanyou and bring your answer back to Lord Sesshomaru. So be quick about it," Jaken demanded as he tossed the scroll to her.

"Jaken, you know you would make fewer enemies if you were a little more polite to others. It wouldn't kill you to be nice you know," Kagome said, though she knew that the imp would never take the advice. Ignoring Jaken's mutters about uppity ningens that didn't know their place, Kagome picked up the scroll and read it.

_Miko,_

_I, Lord Sesshomaru, invite you and your pack, including my half-brother, to the harvest fair to be held in the Western Lands in one month. Should you and your pack decide to attend, accommodations here at my palace will be provided. I write to you because there is something I wish to tell Inuyasha in person, unfortunately we both know how stubborn he can be. It is my hope that you will be able to convince him to attend. Send your reply with Jaken as soon as possible._

_Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands_

Kagome was puzzled about this sudden turn of events, but decided that she had to know what it was that Sesshomaru wanted to tell Inuyasha. Plus she had hopes that this would help the two brothers bury the hatchet, though hopefully not in each other. They seemed to be on better terms since Sesshomaru had agreed to work with them to defeat Naraku and they no longer fought whenever they saw each other. With this decide she tucked the scroll in her backpack and headed back to Kaede's village to talk with her friends. When she arrived she found all her friends were enjoying a meal with Kaede in her house.

"Hey guys. You'll never guess what happened," she said as she sat down next to Inuyasha, who was slurping up his instant ramen.

"What is it, Kagome?" Sango asked. She was seated between Kaede and Inuyasha while Miroku was seated between Kaede and Shippo.

"Jaken brought me a message from Sesshomaru, seems he is inviting us to stay at his palace and attend the harvest fair he is hosting. He specifically asked that you attend Inuyasha. He said he has something he wants to talk to you about in person. What do you guys think, feel like going?" Kagome replied as she accepted a bowl of ramen from Kaede. For a second the whole room was silent, everyone had shocked looks on their faces.

"NO WAY IN HELL; I'M NOT GOING!" Inuyasha exclaimed as he started to get up, but one look from Kagome made him reconsider storming off and he sank back down.

"Inuyasha, this is an opportunity to learn more about your father. It seems like Sesshomaru is willing to put the past behind him and you would be an idiot to let your pride get in the way," Kagome said.

"Yes Inuyasha. After all Sesshomaru is still your aniki. You should give this a chance," Sango encouraged. "He's the only family you have left; don't you want to know more about your family?"

"It would also be a nice break from fighting all the youkai that come looking for the Shikon Jewel. It will only be for a week or two, I'm sure that you and Sesshomaru will be able to get along that long. After all you did manage to get along with him for a month before we defeated Naraku. Besides, this will be Kagome's first chance to attend a fair in this era. We were always too busy to make time for the harvest fair while hunting for the Jewel shards," Miroku added.

"Inuyasha, ye should go. This be the first time ye aniki has summoned ye, there may be an important reason for the invitation. Ye owe it to ye self to find out what that reason is," Kaede stated as she calmly sipped her tea.

"Please Inuyasha. Just see what Sesshomaru wants to talk to you about. I promise that we will leave if you can't handle being around your aniki. I'm sure your father would have liked to see his children getting along," Kagome said as she gave Inuyasha the puppy dog look.

"Fine," Inuyasha growled as he crossed his arms, "we'll go, but the minute he insults me in any way we are leaving, whether he's had his say or not. Kagome, you are going to be with me during this talk. I'm not positive that I'll be able to keep my temper if he is his usual stuck up self."

"Thank you, Inuyasha. I'm sure everything will be fine," Kagome said. Then she rummaged in her backpack for her notebook and a pen to write a reply to Sesshomaru. After jotting down a reply she rolled the paper up, tied an orange ribbon around it to keep it closed, grabbed her bow and arrows, and headed back to the Well to give it to Jaken. Jaken was pacing around the clearing when Kagome got there, but stopped as soon as she entered.

"Here you are, Jaken. Please make sure that Lord Sesshomaru receives our reply and say hi to Rin for me," Kagome said.

"Hmmph, it's about time woman. I have better things to do than wait around for ningens all day," Jaken replied as he started walking away. When he had almost reached the tree line he gave a whistle. In seconds Ah-Un emerged from the woods to carry Jaken back to the palace and then they were gone.

**With Sesshomaru**

Sesshomaru was sitting at his desk in his study going through the responses to the invitations while waiting for his messengers, Jaken and Hideki, to return with replies from Inuyasha's pack and Lord Kouga. He had been very busy in the months since Naraku's defeat. The paperwork had piled up, a few land disputes had to be settled between a few of his minor nobles, getting preparations for the harvest fair done, and helping Jovan move into the palace had taken up a lot of time. Sesshomaru knew that as soon as he received the reply from Kagome he would have to sit down with Jovan and finally tell her about Inuyasha. She had been incredibly patient while waiting for him to have time to discuss the matter.

With an inaudible sigh Sesshomaru picked up the next scroll that waited for his attention. There was a faint scent of lavender and snow still clinging to the scroll that seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quiet place the scent. As he read the scroll, he raised an eyebrow in surprise; it read:

_Lord Sesshomaru,_

_It has come to my attention that this year you will be holding a harvest fair. I'm sure that my invitation must have been eaten by another youkai along with the messenger, so I am writing to let you know that I would be delighted to attend and thank you for the accommodations that you no doubt offered to provide. I look forward to seeing you again, as we have not seen one another since your father's funeral. Thank you for the invitation that I know you sent and I will be arriving two days before the start of the fair so that we have time to become reacquainted._

_Affectionately,_

_Lady Yoake, of the Eastern Lands_

Lady Yoake, he had almost forgotten Lord Kouga's older half-sister. The two of them had been the best of friends as pups, but they had drifted apart when the Inu No Taisho, Touga, had started seeing Izayoi. Sesshomaru had seen his father's relationship with the ningen hime as a betrayal, even though his father and mother had not been mates. They had argued about the worthiness of ningens and for some reason that Sesshomaru didn't know Yoake was adamant that there was nothing wrong with a youkai and a ningen falling in love. They had barely spoken to each other at his father's funeral, so it surprised him that she had decided to reconnect after all these years. Sesshomaru's musing was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Enter," Sesshomaru called. Jaken entered the study and bowed before walking over to the desk.

"Milord, your faithful servant has returned with the reply from the filthy half-breed and his pack. That ungrateful miko made me wait almost an hour before bringing their answer," Jaken said as he handed Sesshomaru the rolled up paper.

"Jaken, have the maids prepare a room for Lady Yoake, it seems she will be attending the fair as well; when the room is ready report back here for further instructions. That will be all," Sesshomaru said before glaring down at the imp. "Another thing, Jaken, you are to refrain from insulting any of my guests. Do I make myself clear?"

"Absolutely clear, milord," Jaken replied in a shaking voice as he slowly bowed out of the room. Jaken, of course, was clueless as to why Lord Sesshomaru would now object to the way he talked.

Sesshomaru had come to several realizations in the month he had spent with Inuyasha and his pack. Seeing how loyal and accepting the ningens had been made him reevaluate his views on ningens. He was now willing to admit that while most ningens were a waste of time, there were a few exceptions. He had also realized that he didn't really hate his otōto and had learned to accept the fact that Inuyasha had found his own path in life. Sesshomaru had let go of the anger he had felt when Izayoi had refused to allow him access to Inuyasha when he was a pup. Now he just had to get Inuyasha to see why he had been angry when he had refused to come live in the palace when Izayoi had died. Sesshomaru knew that Inuyasha thought he and his mother had been abandoned by him, and Sesshomaru's pride would not let him explain things to Inuyasha when he was younger. But the past was gone, and now that he had really been able to get to know his otōto, he hoped that they could at least be civil to each other; for Jovan if for no other reason. With a slight smirk at the thought of how Inuyasha would react to finding out that he had another older sibling Sesshomaru shook his head and opened the message from Kagome.

_Lord Sesshomaru,_

_My friends and I would like to thank you for your invitation. We were able to convince Inuyasha to attend and gratefully accept your offer for accommodations. Inuyasha has agreed to talk with you, but requests that I be present during the discussion. At least this way he will be somewhat civil. We are looking forward to the break this will provide us from youkai attacks due to the Shikon Jewel. I doubt anyone would be foolish enough to attack us while we are your guests. You may expect us the day before the start of the fair. We look forward to seeing you and Rin at the fair and if you would be so kind, please give Rin the ribbon I tied this reply with. I thought it would look good with her usual kimono. _

_Sincerely,_

_Kagome Higurashi_

It amused Sesshomaru to know that his otōto felt the need to have the little miko act as a mediator for their talk. While Kagome had annoyed him when they first met, he had grown fond of the little miko during their travels together. She never ceased to amuse and amaze him. She, more than any other ningen, had been the one who had changed his mind about ningens. The fact that she was so open minded and willing to accept other being for who they are instead of what they are impressed him. Sesshomaru held the highest respect for Kagome, especially since she had adopted the little kitsune and had befriended Rin without expecting any favor from him. Through getting to know her, he was able to finally see why his father had fallen for a ningen, though he only thought of Kagome as a friend. After working for another hour Hideki arrived with confirmation that Lord Kouga would be attending and arriving two days before the fair started. Sesshomaru instructed Jaken to have the five spare rooms in the family wing prepared for Inuyasha and his pack as well as airing out Lord Kouga's usual room. As soon as Jaken left he had Takeo, one of the guards stationed outside his study, take a request for Jovan to come to his study. It was time to let his imōto know about Inuyasha.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

**With Jovan**

Jovan was playing with Rin in the garden when Takeo found her and told her that Lord Sesshomaru wished to see her. It had taken her a couple of moons to learn her way around the Western Palace and get settled in, but she no longer had any difficulty getting around. After taking Rin back to her room to play; Jovan made her way to Sesshomaru's office. She knocked on the door, after a couple of seconds Sesshomaru answered and she entered the room and took a seat across the desk from her aniki.

"You wished to see me, Aniki," Jovan said as she looked over at Sesshomaru. She could tell by the expression in his eyes that he was worried, so she gave him a bright smile to make him feel more at ease.

"I wish to talk to you about Inuyasha," Sesshomaru began. "I appreciate how patiently you have been waiting. As Lord Kouga informed you, Inuyasha is my half-brother, your younger twin brother."

"Why didn't you or Lady Mother ever tell me about him?" Jovan asked.

"The day you were born there was a fire started in the manor your mother, Izayoi, lived in. One of her guards, Takemaru, had fallen in love with your mother and was furious that she was about to give birth to the child of a youkai. Shortly after you were born you were taken by your mother's personal maid to be cleaned. While you were out of the room, Takemaru entered your mother's chambers and stabbed her through the stomach, killing her and your unborn twin. As fate would have it Father was nearby, returning for the birth from a terrible battle with Ryūkotsusei in which he was gravely injured. He fought with Takemaru, killed him, and then used the Tensaiga to bring your mother and Inuyasha back to life. During the battle with Takemaru some candles were overturned and the manor caught fire. The maid who had taken you to be cleaned managed to escape the fire, but could not find your mother anywhere, and assumed that she had died in the fire. Shortly after that Inuyasha was born and Father died from his wounds. After Father's funeral I approached Izayoi and offered to have her and Inuyasha move into the palace with me so that I could help raise my half-brother. At the time I was still disgusted with Father for mating with a ningen, but as I believed Inuyasha was the only sibling I had I wanted to make sure he was properly trained. Her refusal was adamant; she would not let me have anything to do with her son. So I honored her request that I not contact our otōto. It took Izayoi's maid a few moons, but she was able to find Mother and asked her to raise you as she was unable to do so herself. Mother agreed but neglected to inform me of your existence for about two summers. When I found out about you I decided to approach Izayoi once again. Unfortunately it took me a few summers to find her; she had apparently feared that I would come back and take Inuyasha away from her. By the time I located her, it was too late, she had already passed away and our otōto had been driven out of the village by the ningens. When I found him in the forest that later became the Forest of Inuyasha and I offered to take him in. He was quiet angry and refused. It seems he was under the impression that I had abandoned him and his mother and wanted nothing to do with me. Being a young Lord, I had too much pride to try explaining things to him, not that he would have listened anyway. Our otōto is quiet stubborn. So I let him think that I had left him. What he still to this day does not know is that I provided for and protected him until he was old enough to protect himself. I doubt he even questioned were the food he found before he learned to hunt came from, or why he was always safe on his ningen nights. He thought I hated him, and for a while I thought I did too; but I never truly hated him. I hope that he realizes this by now. Inuyasha thought for a long time that I wanted to kill him to get Father's other sword, the Tetsaiga, and while for a time I did want the sword, I would never have really killed him for it. After I found out that he needed the sword to control his youkai blood I continued to fight with him. He thought I still wanted the sword, but the miko he travels with, Kagome, had long since figured out that I was actually training him on how to use the Tetsaiga. Until you had met Lord Kouga, Mother and I had thought it best to keep Inuyasha's existence a secret. At first it was because he had no wish to have contact with us, but after we found out about Naraku the secret was to keep you safe from Naraku. I had intended to tell you about our otōto after Naraku was defeated and find out if you had wanted to meet him. However after spending a month in the company of Inuyasha and his pack I decided to invite him to the harvest fair next month and tell him of you. Kagome has managed to convince him to accept my invitation and they will arrive the day before the fair opens," Sesshomaru said. Jovan was shocked; this was the most she had ever heard her brother say at one time. She sat there in silence for a few minutes taking in all the new information she had received.

"If it hadn't been for Naraku, would you have ever told me about our otōto?" She asked.

"I had planned to tell you once you had moved into the palace. Mother is still a little sore about Father refusing to take her as a mate," he replied. Jovan knew that what he said was the truth, since Sesshomaru didn't lie.

"When will you tell him about me?" She asked.

"I plan on telling him as soon as he and his pack have settled into the family wing of the palace. I'll ask him and Kagome to come see me when they are ready. As soon as they arrive I will ask Takeo to come get you so that you can meet him in private," he replied. "Now, imōto, it is time to get ready for dinner, I will see you in the dining hall in a half an hour."

"Thank you for telling me about Inuyasha, Aniki. I look forward to meeting him. I'll see you at dinner," Jovan said as she left the room.

**With Sesshomaru: Two Days Before the Fair**

Sesshomaru stood in the western garden watching Rin as she practiced using the staff of two heads with Jaken serving as a moving target. The eleven year old girl had become rather good at using the staff and rarely missed her target. The brown eyed girl had tied her black hair up with the orange ribbon Kagome had sent for her.

**'Perhaps it is time to have Totosai craft a staff for the girl. She is at an age that she should learn how to protect herself,'** Sesshomaru's inner beast commented.

_'She might enjoy having her own staff. I will have to see Totosai about this soon,'_ Sesshomaru replied. As he watched in amusement as Rin set Jaken's pants on fire a maid informed Sesshomaru that Lord Kouga had arrived. Sesshomaru sent her to guide Kouga to the gardens and to inform Lady Jovan that he had arrived. Sesshomaru could tell Kouga was interested in his imōto and it seemed as though she might be interested in him as well.

"Welcome Lord Kouga," Sesshomaru greeted as Kouga entered the garden. Instead of wearing his usual armor and furs, Kouga was dressed similar to Sesshomaru, but his shirt and pants were blue with white flowers across the left shoulder. He was also wearing black boots and had his sword at his hip.

"Lord Sesshomaru, it's good to see you again. I see Rin has been learning a few new tricks since I've last seen her," Kouga said with a smirk as Jaken dove into a small pond. "Thank you for inviting me."

"The West and the East have been allies since both our fathers were young. Now that Naraku has been defeated it would be in our best interest to renew the agreement and solidify our alliance," Sesshomaru replied. "Besides, Jovan has been looking forward to seeing you again. She should be here soon."

"I've been looking forward to seeing Lady Jovan as well. I would like to formal ask your permission, as head of the family, to court Lady Jovan," Kouga said.

"It is fine with me, but that is something you will have to ask her for yourself," Sesshomaru informed him. "I have promised my imōto that she will be able to make those decisions for herself. I will not condemn her to an arranged mating as my mother and father were."

"Thank you, I'll ask her when she gets here," Kouga replied. They stood there watching Rin practice and chatting about the pressures of being a Lord for a few minutes before they were interrupted by a new arrival. All of a sudden the scent of lavender and snow hit Sesshomaru and before he had the chance to turn he felt something wrap around his waist in a teasing caress.

"Otōto, I didn't know you would be here. It's been a while hasn't it," said the short, silver haired woman in a sultry voice as she walked between the two taiyoukai. As she started walking away from them her tail slid sensually across Sesshomaru's tight abs.

"We will have to catch up when you are not busy, Kouga," she said then she looked over her should at Sesshomaru. "Lord Sesshomaru, I look forward to getting reacquainted with you as well."

Sesshomaru's mouth went dry as he stared at Lady Yoake as she walked away. Her long silver tail slowly swished back and forth in a seductive way that sent a wave of heat through Sesshomaru. He had forgotten just how attractive his childhood friend had become over the years.

"So did you invite her or did she invite herself?" Kouga asked in surprise.

"I was informed that Lady Yoake would be attending the same day I received an answer from both you and Kagome," Sesshomaru replied.

"I always wondered what had changed between the two of you. You two were inseparable when you were younger. I remember the time Yoake dragged you, Ginta, Hakkaku and I out in the middle of the night to go swimming. I still laugh every time I think about the look on your face when she stripped out of her kimono and dived into the river naked as the day she was born," Kouga said with a laugh.

"Hn," Sesshomaru replied with a small smirk on his face. "If I remember correctly that was when she hit Ginta and Hakkaku with rocks for staring at her instead of swimming like they were supposed to."

"Yeah, those were some good times. So I take it that since Kagome is coming that you've decided to clue Inuyasha in about Lady Jovan," Kouga inquired.

"Indeed. Jovan has expressed an interest in knowing our otōto," Sesshomaru replied, "and I have decided that it is time for Inuyasha and I to put the past behind us once and for all."

"I sincerely hope that will be the case, Aniki. I would like to be able to spend time with both of my brothers without bloodshed," Jovan said as she exited the palace. "Lord Kouga, it's a pleasure to see you again."

Both Taiyoukai turned at the sound of her voice. Instead of wearing the same type of outfit she had on during their last meeting, Jovan was wearing a white kimono with the same pattern as Sesshomaru's outfit except the instead of red the accents were a purple-blue color and on the back was a large crescent moon; the symbol of the Western Lands. Her obi was swirls of silver and the same purple-blue color as the designs on her kimono and her slippers were silver.

"It's wonderful to see you as well, Lady Jovan. Please, just call me Kouga. I'm not as formal as some of the other lords," Kouga replied with a gentle smile.

"Thank you and you may simply call me Jovan," she said as she returned his smile.

"I believe Rin has had enough staff practice for the day. I will see the two of you at dinner. There is still some work that I need to take care of," Sesshomaru said as he walked away to collect Rin. "Jovan, perhaps you would care to show Kouga the gardens."

Jovan blushed slightly but motioned for Kouga to walk with her. They walked in silence for a few minutes. The gardens were lovely with flowers of almost every color imaginable and tall trees with leaves just starting to change color for the fall. This was the first time that Kouga had ever had trouble expressing himself to any woman. Finally, he got up enough courage to ask her what he had been dying to since he had first seen her.

"Jovan, I would like to get to know you better. Will you do me the honor of allowing me to court you?" Kouga asked slightly nervous.

"Kouga," she gasped as her eyes grew wide and a blush spread across her face. "I would like that. I want to get to know you better as well."

"Oh, just to warn you. Inuyasha doesn't really like me all that much, so he may object to my courting his imōto," Kouga said with a chagrin look on his face.

"Why doesn't Inuyasha like you, Kouga?" she asked. As Jovan and Kouga walked around the gardens, he told her all about how he had at one time thought to take Kagome as a mate and how he had later realized that what he felt for the miko was more of a sibling love than anything else. Jovan found herself laughing as Kouga told her how he had kept up the act until the day that he had meet her and all the funny things that happened whenever he would show up claiming Kagome as his woman.

"Truthfully, I felt a little bad for not letting Kagome know what I was up to, but I could never catch her alone to tell her. Inuyasha would always get really possessive and competitive. I know that she was afraid of hurting my feelings so she never told me to get lost," Kouga said.

The rest of the afternoon passed in pleasant conversation as they walked around the gardens. Kouga's stories about Inuyasha and his friends kept Jovan laughing and through them Jovan started getting to know a little bit about her otōto. When they had to go get ready for dinner they both felt as though they had known each other for years. Kouga offered to escort Jovan to the banquet at the end of the first day of the fair which she accepted with a smile. He knew that she would probably like to spend a couple of days getting to know her otōto.

While he didn't want to interfere with the family reunion, he couldn't help but wish that he could be a fly on the wall when Sesshomaru tells Inuyasha about Jovan. He just hoped the hanyou didn't do anything stupid and hurt Jovan. He would hate to have to kick his future brother-in-law's butt for hurting his woman after all.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

**With Sesshomaru: Same Day in the Study**

Sesshomaru knew that he should be working on some of the paperwork that always seemed to multiply when he wasn't looking, but he was unable to concentrate. He kept replaying the few seconds the Yoake had her tail wrapped around him in the garden and the wonderful fragrance of lavender and snow still lingered on his haori made his inner beast struggle to get out.

**'Why are we here in the study, Sesshomaru, when we should be looking for Yoake? I have dearly missed our little wolf's fragrance. It has been too long since we have seen our little wolf. Leave the boring, useless paperwork and let's go find our little Yoake,' **the beast said, interfering with Sesshomaru's attempt to concentrate.

_'I have too much work that has to get done before Inuyasha gets here. We will just have to wait and see Yoake at dinner. I have missed her too, but we do not have the time to run off and play like we used to. There are times that I wish that we were not the Lord of the Western Lands. If father had not died so early in life we would have had more time to enjoy our youth. At least I now know why father decided to marry that hime Izayoi. Some ningens are worthy of respect. A few are even more worthy of respect than some of the youkai that we have met,'_ Sesshomaru replied.

**'Fine, but make sure that you let our Yoake know about this change in your attitude. That belief of yours about ningens and youkai relationships being disgraceful is why Yoake left us in the first place. We would have already mated her and had pups if it had not been for your elitist attitude,'** the beast said with a resigned tone of voice.

_'Wait, since when did you decide that Yoake was our mate? You never said anything about that before,'_ Sesshomaru inquired.

**'I was waiting for you to figure it out for yourself. I know that I want her as our mate, but you have to decide if you love her like I do. Our mate deserves to be loved by both of us,'** the beast answered.

_'You know, I really wish you had said something a couple of centuries ago. I've known that I love Yoake since she matured. Had you said anything about wanting to mate her I would have done so in an instant. You baka, the only reason I didn't mate her was because you never told me that you wanted her and I wasn't going to mate someone that you didn't love,'_ Sesshomaru informed his beast.

**'Great, now that we both know that we love Yoake we can start courting her and then mate her and have lots of pups. So hurry up and finish this annoying paperwork so we can find Yoake and start courting our little wolf hime,'** the beast demanded.

_'I would if you would stop interrupting me while I am trying to concentrate,'_ Sesshomaru replied as he once again started reading the scrolls that were piled up on his desk. After three hours of diligent work Sesshomaru finally had all the paperwork finished and had just enough time to take a refreshing bath before heading down to dinner.

After gathering a change of clothes he headed down the hall to the enclosed hot spring at the end of the family wing to bathe. When his ancestors had built the palace they had decided to enclose the natural hot spring for family use, they had also created a hot spring at the end of each wing for guests to use when visiting. He lit the lantern that sat on the table by the door before heading into the changing area. He reminded himself as he undressed to tell Inuyasha and his pack to light the privacy lantern by the door when using the hot spring so that no one would walk in on them while they bathed.

This last thought was somewhat ironic, because once he finished undressing and slide the door to the hot spring open he came face to face with Yoake as she as stepping out of the water. She looked up as the door opened and froze in place for a few seconds. During those few seconds she covertly checked him out. She noticed right away that Sesshomaru had changed a great deal since she had last seen him nude. He was more muscular than he had been when they were both younger, not bulging with muscles, but you could definitely tell that he was strong. His face was even more sensual than she had remembered; his shoulders were broader. His tail, which was draped over his right shoulder, was longer than it had been the last time she had seen him. Yoake also noticed a few scars that hadn't been there before, the most notable one being on his right arm, close to his shoulder. As her eyes drifted downward she noticed that his muscles weren't the only things that had gotten bigger. Her eyes got slightly wider as she took in all the changes in Sesshomaru. Her best friend had definitely grown up since the last time they had gone skinny dipping together.

Sesshomaru didn't notice Yoake ogling him since he was too busy ogling her. He couldn't help but notice that her breasts had gotten larger; they looked like they were a perfect size for his hands. He also noticed her small waist and her flared out hips gave her a perfect hourglass frame. Her long legs were toned and the sun hitting the beads of water made her glisten as the water ran down her ivory skin. As his gaze slide down her figure he felt his beast struggling to come out and knew that his eyes were starting to turn red. He quickly wrapped his tail around his hips to hide his growing erection and turned to face the door.

"This Sesshomaru was unaware that the hot spring was being used. Forgive the interruption," Sesshomaru said as he silently struggled to keep his beast from taking control. Yoake took a few more seconds to let he gaze wander the new view Sesshomaru had given her, after all when given the opportunity to stare at the world's finest ass you would have to be a baka not to. Sesshomaru could smell Yoake starting to get aroused and he smirk, pleased to know that the female he wanted to mate found him as attractive as he found her.

"That's quite alright, Sessho. It's not like you haven't seen me naked before. Though I must say, you have filled out some since the last time I saw you," Yoake replied as she walked over to the bench and picked up her towel to dry off.

"Still, it would be best if you remember to light the privacy lantern when you go to bathe. My otōto and his pack will be staying in this wing starting tomorrow and one of his pack members is a hentai monk. As it is I have had to warn all the females in the palace about his so called cursed hand. It would not do for the monk to die while staying in this Sesshomaru's palace," he told her.

**'If that monk touches our mate he will be missing his cursed hand,'** his beast told Sesshomaru.

_'Calm down, we do not want to start a fight with the monk, we will simply warn him when he gets here to keep his hands to himself. If he doesn't listen we will have him escorted out of the palace,'_ Sesshomaru said.

"Well, that is a surprise. I didn't realize you got along with your otōto since he is a hanyou," Yoake commented in a pleased tone.

"We do not get along very well, but this Sesshomaru has decided to fix change that. This Sesshomaru's imōto wants to know our otōto and this Sesshomaru would be displeased if she were hurt due to our fighting," he replied.

"I didn't know you had a sister. I had heard about Inuyasha, but there has been no talk of a sister. Tell me about her," Yoake requested as she finished drying off and started getting dressed.

Yoake and her beast were both inwardly laughing. They remembered that the only time Sesshomaru talked in third person was when he was uncomfortable or nervous. As far as Yoake knew, no one else had ever realized this little tell of his so most beings thought he was as emotionless as he pretended to be. But Yoake knew better, they had been best friends since they were pups and she knew that his façade hid very deep emotions. The only clue as to what he was really feeling when he wore his mask was his eyes. But since most beings were too afraid to look him in the eye they didn't know what he was feeling.

"Her name is Jovan and she is Inuyasha's older twin sister. Mother has raised her since she was a few moons old, though I didn't know about her until she was two. Inuyasha does not know of her yet, that is one of the reasons I have invited him to the palace. You will have a chance to meet Jovan at dinner tonight. I would be honored to escort you to dinner," Sesshomaru said.

"I'd like that," Yoake replied. She had just finished dressing and was amused to see that Sesshomaru was still standing right in front of the door. So as she went to leave the room she slipped through the small space between Sesshomaru and the door. Not only did her breasts graze his arm as she passed, she also gently ran her fingers through the fur of his tail. Her tail brushed against the back of his calf as she squeezed through the doorway. The combination of sensations sent a shockwave of pleasure through him and he knew that she could smell how aroused she was making him. As she walked toward the door to the hall she looked over her should and winked.

"By the way, Sessho, you still have a nice ass. I'll see you later, enjoy your bath," she said ask she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.

After she left the room Sesshomaru rushed through his bath and changed into clean clothes, he was eager to get done so that he could spend more time with Yoake before dinner. As it turned out, even though he had rushed, he arrived at her door just in time to escort her to the dining hall for dinner. He was intercepted by Jaken on the way who tried to insist that Rin be punished for setting him on fire earlier. Of course Sesshomaru just ended up telling him to be quiet, but Jaken took up a good ten minutes of his time. Then Rin's personal servant stopped him to ask him which kimono he wanted Rin to wear for the banquet at the end of the first day of the festival and that took up the last twenty minutes that he could have spent courting his Yoake. Fortunately Sesshomaru had learned patience while having to travel with Inuyasha, so no one was killed for interrupting him.

When Sesshomaru he knocked on the door of Yoake's room, he was surprised that he didn't have to wait very long. She answered the door right away and Sesshomaru was stunned by her outfit, though the only way you could tell was the slight widening of his eyes and the scent of desire. She was wearing a short royal blue skin tight inner kimono that stopped at mid-thigh with silver embroidered snowflake designs on the skirt, a short sleeved royal blue outer kimono with gold embroidered wolves running along the hem and silver embroidered snowflakes at the ends of the sleeves that came down to the back of her knees and only came together around the waist then flared out leaving the short skirt of her inner kimono and her legs showing, and thigh high black lacy boots. This left a tantalizing three inches of skin showing between the top of her boots and the bottom of her skirt. She had uses a bit of kohl to accent her eyes and that made her swirls of iridescent silver marking around her icy silver eyes stand out even more. She wore her long silver hair loose and it cascaded down her back to her knees. It reminded Sesshomaru of a waterfall shimmering in the light of a full moon. Sesshomaru had to fight the urge to pounce on her and mate her right then and there.

"You look stunning, Yoake," Sesshomaru said as he fought to stay in control and offered her his arm.

"Thank you, Sessho. You look as handsome as always. Shall we head to the dining hall," Yoake replied as she stepped out of her room and took his arm.

During the short walk to the dining hall they chatted about their families. Once they entered the dining hall and took their seats, Sesshomaru sat at the head of the table with Jovan sitting at his left and Yoake at his right, the servants brought in the food and after Sesshomaru started eating everyone else did too. Kouga, of course, sat next to Jovan and they spent most of the meal talking to each other about their lives and flirting with each other. Both Sesshomaru and Yoake could tell that it wouldn't be long until the two became mates and both of them approved the match. Sesshomaru knew that Kouga was an honorable wolf who would take care of his imōto and protect her, though he was aware that Inuyasha might not like the match. Fortunately since Sesshomaru was the head of the family Inuyasha had no say in whom Jovan was to mate. Yoake was surprised when she found herself sitting by a young ningen girl, and was even more surprised when she was informed that the girl was Sesshomaru's ward, Rin, and that he had actually brought her back from the dead with the Tensaiga.

Sesshomaru and Yoake spent a lot of the meal talking about old times and the various beings both of them knew. Sesshomaru also managed to admit that he had been mistaken when he so venomously disparaged ningen and youkai mating and marriages as well as hanyous. He also told her that since he had meet Rin and the ningens his otōto traveled with he had to reconsider his attitude about ningens. He was willing to admit that some ningens were worth the time to get to know. Sesshomaru told Yoake about his quest to find his father's fang which led to his getting involved with the whole ordeal with Naraku. Yoake had to laugh when she heard about the Miko Kagome threatening to cut him with the Tessaiga and when she had shattered his armor with her arrow then threatened to take his arm. She could see why Sesshomaru now considered the Miko a friend; he had a very curious nature and the challenge of figuring the girl out was like a neko with catnip. After talking for a while Yoake asked Sesshomaru to be her escort to the festival and he agreed to the idea. The night passed quickly and before anyone realized it dinner was over and everyone headed back to their rooms. Kouga walked Jovan to her door and before they separated he gave he a light kiss and nipped her on the left shoulder to leave his courting mark, which looked like a love bite. Now no other males could try to claim his woman unless she rejected his proposal.

Sesshomaru walked Yoake to her room that night and though he wanted to ask to court her he was nervous about it and ended up just wishing her goodnight and returned to his room for the night. Sesshomaru was completely out of his depth. He had never had to pursuit a woman before; as a matter of fact he was constantly dodging females that wanted to mate him for his title and wealth. As a consequence of that, though he would never admit it to anyone other than his future mate, he had never even been with a female. _It is no wonder my beast is so eager to claim our mate_, Sesshomaru thought as he drifted off to sleep that night.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4

**The Day Before the Fair: With Inuyasha's Pack**

"Inuyasha, if I have to tell you one more time to quit picking on Shippo I'm going to S.I.T. you six feet under," Kagome yelled as Inuyasha hit Shippo on the head for the fifth time in the hour they had been awake. They had been traveling for three days and they knew they would reach the Western Palace by mid-morning if they continued traveling at the same pace they had been. The closer they got to the palace the more irritable Inuyasha became. Kagome knew that Inuyasha was nervous, but she was getting feed up with his aggressive coping mechanism.

"Keh," Inuyasha huffed as he dropped Shippo. "Then keep the brat away from me and quiet. I can do without his comments."

"All he did was ask you if you planned on taking a bath before we reach the palace. I know Kagome, Shippo and I are planning on stopping at the hot spring before we head out. That way we are not too dirty when we get there," Sango remarked as she finished packing everything but the bath supplies and the clothes they were changing into.

It looked like Inuyasha was going to say something when he suddenly stopped and reached for the Tessaiga. All of a sudden the whole group sensed that a lot of youkai and realized that they were surrounded. Everyone quickly grabbed their weapons and prepared for battle. Soon ten boar youkai emerged from the surrounding forest. The largest boar was the only one with a sword and he was obviously the leader.

"Hand over the Jewel, half-breed, and we may let you live," the large boar said as he pointed his sword at Inuyasha. "Refuse and you will all die. Of course my men will have a little fun with the women before they die."

"Keh, you wimps should run before we use you for target practice," Inuyasha replied as he drew Tessaiga and it transformed. As soon as he answered the boars attacked. Sango threw her Hiraikotsu and jumped on Kirara when she transformed as the bone boomerang cut one of the boars in half. Miroku threw a sutra at one of the boars and attacked another with his shakujou. Kagome fired a sacred arrow and as the first youkai was being purified she quickly prepared another arrow and fired again. With three of the ten youkai dead and one frozen in place thanks to Miroku, they all spread out to give everyone more room to fight. Shippo stayed with Sango on Kirara so that he didn't get in the way and threw foxfire attacks at any youkai that got too close.

In the chaos that ensued Kagome ended up being separated from the rest of the group and surrounded by three boar youkai. Two were coming at her from the back while the third distracted her from the front. Sango and Miroku were too far away and too busy with their youkai attackers to help Kagome. Inuyasha was busy fighting the boar boss and couldn't help either. Kagome could feel the youki from the two youkai behind her and knew that while she would be able to kill off the one in front of her, she would not be quick enough to get the other two before they injured her. Kagome fired her arrow at the boar in front of her and started to spin around to confront the other two when she heard a masculine voice cry out.

"Sen Mizuguchi Sutoraiki (Thousand Waterspout Strike)." Suddenly she heard what sounded like a waterfall right behind her and as she finished turning she was surprised to see that the last two boars were caught in a tornado of water and being lifted high into the air. Within seconds the boars were dead and the waterspout had moved around her and caught the two youkai that Sango and Miroku were fighting. By the time Inuyasha finished with the leader of the youkai the waterspout had killed the rest of the boars including the one that Miroku had used a sutra on. While Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, and Shippo were distracted by the giant funnel of water that was decimating their enemies, Kagome was distracted by the tall youkai who had just saved her life.

He was about 6'1" tall with spiky silvery blue bangs that reach his cheekbones, the hair that framed his handsome tanned face fell to his shoulders, and she could see the rest of his long hair hung down to his knees. He had one royal blue stripe on each cheek bone, a royal blue teardrop shaped marking on his forehead, and royal blue swirls down both arms ending at the wrists. His youkai markings brought out the gorgeous sky blue of his eyes. His lean, but muscular body was clad in a silver sleeveless tunic like shirt that had a gold trimmed slit from the neckline to about mid chest over a sleeveless gray form fitting under shirt, silver hakamas with a gold border at the ankles, a grey and gold diamond patterned sash, black boots, and a royal blue sheath with gold and silver wave designs on it. The katana in his hand looked like an ordinary sword, but she could feel they immense youki flowing through it, though there was no malicious intent in either the sword or its wielder.

As the waterspout died down, harmlessly dropping the dead youkai at the edge of the clearing where they wouldn't fall on anyone, the youkai turned his gaze to Kagome and gave her a wink and a devastatingly sexy smile as he sheathed his katana. Kagome blushed at the wink and felt her knees go weak when he smiled.

"Are you alright, fair miko? Those insolent boars didn't hurt you did they?" He asked, his voice was smooth, refined and had a sexy British accent. While he was talking he ran his gaze along her to see if there were any injuries that he could see. His eyes widened slightly as he took in Kagome's outfit. She was still in her pajamas, which consisted of a light blue spaghetti strap, skin tight tank top that showed a fair amount of her stomach and brought out the sapphire blue of her eyes, very short black shorts, and the blue fuzzy bunny slippers she had slipped on when she woke up. Her wavy raven hair was still a bit wild from sleep as she hadn't brushed it yet. "I believe the style of dress has changed quite drastically in the last couple of centuries I've spent over seas. I must say I find the new look much more interesting than what the women of London were wearing when I left."

"Oi, quit ogling Kagome! Who the hell are you and what the hell do you want?" Inuyasha yell as he pointed his sword at the new youkai. He might not have been interested in her, but he sure as hell didn't like it when other guys checked out his best friend. Kagome glared at Inuyasha over her shoulder.

"Inuyasha, there is no need to be rude! Put your sword away and be civilized. In case it escaped your attention, he just saved my life and took out six of those idiots with one attack," Kagome chided Inuyasha before turning back to the male in front of her. "Please forgive Inuyasha; he is a little rough around the edges. Thank you for your help. As to my outfit, it's normal for where I'm from, but not for around here."

"No need to apologize, Lady miko. I'm sure that with a woman as lovely as you he has probably had to fight off many over eager suitors who wished to claim you for their own. Quite the usual response for an Inu Youkai when they feel their pack mate is in trouble, I'd do something similar if I was in his position. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Chūjitsuna, an Inu youkai and cousin to Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Lands. I am on my way to visit with my dear cousin. Might I have the honor of knowing your names?" He asked as he looked around at the other people in the group.

"Of course," Kagome said as she pointed out each member of the pack in turn. "I'm Kagome. This is Sango, she is a youkai slayer. The nekomata is Kirara, she is Sango's companion. That is Miroku, he is a monk. The kitsune is my adopted son Shippo. Last but not least is my hanyou friend Inuyasha. We are also heading for the Western Palace. Sesshomaru-sama has invited us to the harvest festival he is hosting this year. Why don't we all travel together?"

"WHAT! You baka! We don't know anything about this guy and you want to travel with him…" Inuyasha started to rant. Kagome slowly turned around and glared at the oblivious hanyou. Miroku, Sango and Shippo shook their heads.

"Inuyasha," Kagome said in a frighteningly sweet tone of voice. As soon as Inuyasha heard her use that tone his ears flattened on his head and he realized that once again he had gone a little too far. "Sit boy."

Thus Inuyasha earned his first sit of the day. Luckily Kagome wasn't really ticked off so his crater was only a few inches deep instead of a few feet and the spell wore off in just a couple of minutes. Just enough time for Kagome to assure Chūjitsuna that he was more than welcome to travel with them, threaten Miroku, and collect Sango and Shippo and head for the hot spring for their baths. To Chūjitsuna's credit he didn't laugh at Inuyasha's predicament. While the girls and Shippo were gone Miroku took the time to explain the beads and the reason they had been attacked to Chūjitsuna. When he heard that Kagome was the guardian of the Shikon Jewel he scoffed at the baka youkai that sought such false power. He was of the same opinion as Sesshomaru that a being should rely on its own strength and intelligence to solve a problem. He offered Inuyasha his sympathy for having to constantly fight to help protect the infamous jewel. The companionable attitude that Chūjitsuna had smoothed things over with Inuyasha a bit, though he was still not happy that the male was going to travel with them, even if it was only for a few hours.

After the girls returned from their baths dressed in their best kimonos, even Kagome brought along two weeks' worth of traditional kimonos so she didn't offend Sesshomaru while at his palace, Miroku and Inuyasha went to take their baths. Inuyasha decided that it would be a good idea to clean up after the battle; he didn't want to give Sesshomaru an excuse to insult him.

While the boys were gone Chūjitsuna entertained the girls with stories about his travels in Europe and the different cultures that he encountered. He had the girls laughing at his experience with wearing a kilt. Unfortunately for him, though he didn't hear any complaints from the females around at the time, his first time wearing one he had been fixing a campfire when a very strong wind flipped the kilt up over his back. Luckily only the ladies he had been traveling with were there at the time as their mates had been out hunting and had asked him to protect the women. After about fifteen minutes Inuyasha and Miroku returned and they all headed out for the Western Palace.

Inuyasha and Sango, with Kirara riding on her shoulder, were at the front of the group talking and keeping a lookout for trouble. Miroku and Shippo were right behind them. Shippo was telling Miroku about the interesting stories Chūjitsuna had been telling them about his travels. Since he didn't find the kilt incident as interesting as Kagome and Sango had he left that part out. Chūjitsuna and Kagome traveled at the back of the group. They were discussing the differences between miko training and youkai training. Kagome was worried that Shippo would not get the proper training with her raising him, but Chūjitsuna assured her that if there were several kitsune schools that he could attend for training or if she didn't want to send him to a school she could always see about getting a tutor for him. While kitsune are mischievous by nature, they are also very affectionate and caring towards their kits. He offered to help find a tutor for Shippo after the harvest festival and with a blush Kagome accepted his offer.

The entire time they were walking Kagome was blushing. Ever since Inuyasha and Kagome had sat down and actually talked about their feelings and realized that they were just friends, Kagome had been looking around at the different males that she knew. She realized that although there were several males that she knew and liked they were all in the friend zone. She had been wondering when she was going to find someone she was actually attracted to, Inuyasha didn't count because although she had thought she was in love with him she wasn't really physically attracted to him. From the first time Kagome had seen Chūjitsuna she had been extremely turned on. Chūjitsuna was also attracted to Kagome. It had been her scent of roses and spring rain that had drawn him to the battle. The instant his had caught her scent his beast had insisted that they find the source of the heavenly aroma and when he had first really seen Kagome his beast had promptly informed him that he wanted the pretty miko as his mate.

Due to the unexpected battle they had gotten into that morning the group had to stop for lunch instead of being able to eat at the Western Palace. Inuyasha didn't even argue when Kagome suggested taking a break, which would have shocked everyone if they didn't know that Inuyasha was nervous. Since Kagome knew that Inuyasha was not in a hurry she had Miroku collect some firewood while Sango went with Shippo to help him get a pot of water for the ramen. Chūjitsuna offered to catch a couple of rabbits to complete the meal and Kagome smiled and thanked him. Once everyone was busy with their tasks Kagome sat down next to Inuyasha.

"Hey, Inuyasha, don't worry so much. I'm sure that whatever Sesshomaru wants to talk to you about won't be that bad," Kagome said in a comforting tone of voice.

"Keh. He probably just wants to rub it in my face that he's a high and mighty lord while I'm a nobody," Inuyasha replied, his ears were laying flat on his head. "Not that I care what that bastard says."

"I really think that he's changed his mind about you, Inuyasha. All I'm asking of you is that you listen to what he has to say and try to keep an open mind," she said. About that time Miroku got back with the firewood and started the fire, Sango and Shippo returned with the water and once Miroku got the fire going they put water on to boil. A few minutes later Chūjitsuna arrived with three rabbits already cleaned, skinned, and ready for the fire. While Kagome and Chūjitsuna were cooking lunch and entertaining Shippo, Miroku took the opportunity to meditate and Sango sat next to Inuyasha.

"How are you doing Inuyasha?" Sango asked.

"I'm fine Sango," Inuyasha replied, though to Sango he sounded a little depressed. "Hey, what do you think Sesshomaru wants to talk to me about?"

"I'm not sure, but maybe he wants a chance to let go of the past. Rin has really changed him. He's not as cold as he used to be and I know that Kagome considers him a friend. We haven't seen him since the final battle with Naraku, but I think it's a good sign that he is inviting not only you, but the rest of us to stay with him in the palace. I don't think he would have done that if he still hated you," she answered.

"Yeah, that's a good point. Maybe you and Kagome are right. Maybe I should just give him a chance to say what he has to say. Thanks Sango," Inuyasha said.

"You're welcome. Just remember Yasha, you still have us if things don't go the way we think they will and Kagome has promised to be there with you. You're not alone anymore, we are a pack and a pack sticks together," she told him and patted him on his shoulder as she stood up to help Kagome serve the food. Once everyone ate, the dishes were washed and packed back up, and the fire put out they headed out again. A couple hours later they reached the palace and were immediately shown to their rooms. They were all surprised that they were put in the family wing of the palace and each was assigned a personal servant to help them while they stayed. Shippo was placed right next to Rin's room which was on the right side at the end of the hall by the hot spring. Next to Shippo's room came Kagome's, then came Sango's, and the last two rooms on the right was empty. On the left side of the hall, across from Rin was Sesshomaru, then an empty room set aside for his future mate, then another room that was occupied, then Inuyasha, next was Chūjitsuna, and the last room on that side was Miroku's.

An hour after the pack had arrived at the palace they were finished unpacking and had settled into their rooms. Rin had run off with Shippo to play in the gardens and everyone else but Kagome and Inuyasha were resting before dinner. Once Inuyasha and Kagome were settled in, Kagome sent her personal servant, Yumi, to inform Sesshomaru that she and Inuyasha were settled in and were available whenever he was. It wasn't long before Sesshomaru sent back word that he had time right then for the discussion. Kagome went to Inuyasha's room and collected him before following Yumi back to Sesshomaru's study. Outside the study door there were two guards stationed. When Yumi nodded to the guards, one knocked on the door and opened it when Sesshomaru bid them enter. As Kagome and Inuyasha came in Sesshomaru signaled the guard with a nod to send a servant to inform Jovan that she was needed in Sesshomaru's study.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5

**Day Before the Festival: In Sesshomaru's Study**

"Hello Sesshomaru. How have you been?" Kagome asked as she and Inuyasha sat in front of his desk.

"This Sesshomaru has been well. How have you and your pack fared? I see that you have yet to make your wish," Sesshomaru replied.

"We've been good. The only real problem is that I have no idea what to wish for. I still have no idea what purpose Midoriko intended for the blasted thing. So, what is it you wished to talk to Inuyasha about?" she asked as Inuyasha started to fidget.

"This Sesshomaru will explain in a moment, there is one more person that must be present at this meeting and will be here shortly," Sesshomaru said. A few minutes later there was another knock on the door and Jovan entered the room. Inuyasha didn't even bother to turn and look at the person who entered until Kagome gasped. After a few seconds of shock Inuyasha looked back over at Sesshomaru.

"WHAT THE HELL! Where did she come from? What is going on here, Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha demanded as he jumped to his feet. Kagome snapped out of her daze and grabbed his arm.

"Inuyasha, that's enough. Take a seat and I'm sure that Sesshomaru will explain, remember you promised to listen to what he had to say," she reminded him as she pulled on his arm. "Now, Inuyasha or I'll say the magic word."

"Keh, fine, but this had better be one hell of a good explanation," he grudgingly replied as he sat back down.

"Inuyasha, this is Jovan. She is your older twin sister," Sesshomaru started. "Jovan, this is our otōto, Inuyasha and the Miko Kagome. Come sit while this Sesshomaru will explains."

With that Sesshomaru spent the next couple of hours telling Kagome and Inuyasha how everything came about. He admitted that he wasn't very accepting of their father's decision to be with Izayoi, but that he had tried to do the right thing anyway. He told them everything that he had told Jovan, including how he would look after Inuyasha in secret. When he finished talking both Inuyasha and Kagome were shocked at first, mostly because he had talked so much.

"Ya know, I had figured out that you were helping me," Inuyasha admitted after the shock wore off. "When you were traveling with us and I saw how you took care of that kid of yours and even looked out for the runt, I figured out that you had been the one to help me out when I was a kid. Didn't wanna admit it at first, but when we were fighting Naraku I saw three times when you stopped him from attacking my back. After the battle you just left and that gave me time to think about everything. I realized that if you had really wanted me dead you would have just killed me. I also had to admit that when we fought you were going easy on me. I can also understand why you never told me about Jovan. At first we were both too angry and I wouldn't have listened. Then there was Naraku, who would have tried to use her against us if he knew about her."

"What say you, Inuyasha, shall we forgive our past and try to be the family Father wanted us to be?" Sesshomaru asked. Though he didn't look it he was amazed that Inuyasha hadn't blown up at him more than once.

"Yeah, I think we could do that. I just have one question for you," he replied in a calm voice. "Why the hell does our sister smell like that mangy wolf, Kouga?"

"Otōto, it is not nice to call my intended mangy," Jovan said with a slightly mischievous smile. She found it funny when Inuyasha's jaw dropped at her answer. It only took a few seconds before he exploded.

"Hell, no! You can't be serious. Sesshomaru you're giving our sister to the wolf? How the hell could you let that happen…?" Inuyasha ranted for a few minutes until Kagome decided that enough was enough.

"Sit boy," she said as she rolled her eyes. "Jovan it is very nice to meet you. Please forgive Inuyasha, I'm sure that you and Kouga will be happy, though you might want to make him build you a house instead of living in that cave that he lives in."

"Oh, don't worry, the cave was only what they used for protection from the birds of paradise. When the birds started preying on his people he decided that living in wooden building that could be broken into or set on fire was impractical. Once you helped him get rid of those pests they started rebuilding their village by the waterfall, though they plan to use the caves if there is another emergency," Jovan explained before looking over at Inuyasha. "As for your questions my dear otōto, Aniki gave me his word that I could choose my own mate. He doesn't want me to go through an arranged mating like Lady Mother and our father did. Besides, Kouga is a very nice male and he has told me all about the issues between the two of you. He's given me his word that if you are civil to him he will not start anything with you."

"Keh, fine. You're a grown woman, so there's not much I can say, but why the wolf and when did he stop chasing Kagome?" Inuyasha asked with a resigned sigh.

"Well, Kouga saved my life and looked out for me until Aniki came to get me. You're going to have to ask Kouga about his chasing Kagome, I promised I'd let him explain about that. But that is something that can wait. What I'd like is to spend a while getting to know you. I've only known about you for about six moons. So, otōto, will you escort me to the festival tomorrow?" Jovan asked.

"Yeah, I'd like that, but can we leave the wolf out of it. I'd rather get to know you without him around if you don't mind," he replied with a soft smile.

"Sure, I look forward to it," she answered with a bright smile of her own.

"Well, Sesshomaru, I'm sure you have other things you have to do and Kagome and I have to go get ready for dinner so we're gonna head back to our rooms," Inuyasha stated as he stood up. Kagome, Jovan and Sesshomaru stood up as well.

"Very well, otōto," Sesshomaru replied as he offered his hand to Inuyasha. At first Inuyasha was hesitant to take his hand, but then he shrugged and clasped Sesshomaru's hand in brotherhood. Kagome watched with tears in her eyes as they took the first step towards fixing their relationship.

"Oh, I just wish your father was alive. He would be so proud of both of you," Kagome said without thinking. Suddenly there was a bright flash of pink light that made everyone cover their eyes. When the light disappeared and they all uncovered their eyes they all stared for a few minutes, because there in Sesshomaru's study stood a gorgeous inu youkai. He was a few inches taller than Sesshomaru with bright gold eyes, long silver hair that would have reached his feet if it hadn't been pulled up into a top knot, his long bangs that reached down passed his eyebrows, his skin was paler than Inuyasha's, but tanner than Sesshomaru's, he had one jagged dark blue lining each cheek bone and the same magenta streak above his eyes as Sesshomaru had. He was wearing a white haori with a thick dark blue stripe and a narrow dark blue stripe going down his left shoulder, a white hakama, heavy spiked armor with a diamond shaped ruby embedded in the center of the breast plate, dark blue arm guards with a grey design on them, and a dark red sash with a dark blue stripe at the two ends. He had two tails that he had arranged to look as though he was wearing a silver fur cape. He had a slightly puzzled look on his face as he looked around the room. His massive youki flooded the room and slightly clashed with Kagome's spiritual powers for a few seconds before he suppressed it. Then, as his eyes focused on Sesshomaru and Inuyasha he took a step toward them.

"Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, my sons, it is good to see you, but I did not think I would see you again until you crossed over. How is it I am in the living world again?" the male inquired.

"Maybe we should all take a seat," Kagome suggested, "this might take a while to explain and we might as well be comfortable while we talk." As they all sat down Sesshomaru introduced Kagome and Jovan.

"Father, this is the Miko Kagome, and this is your daughter Jovan," Sesshomaru said "Jovan, Kagome, this is our father, the Inu No Taisho, Lord Takehiko (A.N. Takehiko means Hero Prince). He then briefly told him about Jovan's past and explained how Takehiko didn't know about the second child. After that Sesshomaru explained about Midoriko's death and how she created the Shikon Jewel. With everyone's help Takehiko learned what had gone on with his sons for the last two hundred years and about Kagome's wish.

"Well, that explains it. Midoriko was a good friend when I was alive. I'm sorry to hear of her passing, but I'm sure her daughter will be relieved to know that her mother is finally at peace," Takehiko said.

"I didn't know Midoriko had a child. I wonder why her daughter wasn't entrusted with the jewel after she died," Kagome commented.

"Oh, not many beings knew about Midoriko's daughter," Takehiko replied with a laugh. "After all if other people learned that she had mated with a youkai and given him a full blood child they would not have trusted her as much as they did."

"I wonder if her daughter is still alive. If so we should find her and let her know that her mother is now free," Kagome said.

"Well, I think Sesshomaru would know whether she is or not. After all he and Yoake are childhood friends," he answered. Sesshomaru's eyes widened in surprise at hearing that Yoake was Midoriko's daughter.

"I see. That makes the search easy, since Lady Yoake and her otōto, Lord Kouga, are here at the palace for the duration of the harvest festival," Sesshomaru said after taking a few seconds to collect himself. "Since dinner will be served soon I suggest we all retire to our rooms to prepare. Father, I will escort you to your room and have a servant bring you some clothes for you. Will you be reclaiming your title as lord of the west father?"

"No, my son, my time as Lord ended when I died. I will be enjoying the freedom that comes from not being a Lord. I will have to see Totosai about forging a new sword for me as well. I will not be reclaiming Tessaiga or Tenseiga either, they are no longer mine," Takehiko replied as he stood up. "Perhaps you, Inuyasha, and Jovan would attend the festival with me."

"This Sesshomaru will be escorting Lady Yoake, but I am sure that we will see you at the festival," Sesshomaru replied. "Perhaps, Inuyasha, you and your pack would be willing to stay longer. There will be plenty of time to get reacquainted after the festival."

"I will have to ask the others but I wouldn't mind staying longer," Inuyasha said. "Father, if it's alright with Jovan I wouldn't mind having you tag along with us."

"It's fine with me. I never expected to be able to meet you, Father. Oh, Sesshomaru, what are you going to tell Lady Mother? She's going to be here tomorrow," Jovan added. By this time everyone was standing and heading for the door.

"Kamiko is coming? It's good to see that you are starting to get along with your mother, son," Takehiko said as they all head toward the family wing. Sesshomaru stopped a passing servant and sent her to gather a few changes of clothes for Takehiko.

"It is Jovan that mother is coming to see. Since Jovan has moved to the Western Palace Mother has been lonely. I will tell Mother the truth about how Father is alive again," Sesshomaru responded. By this time they had all reached the family wing and Sesshomaru gave Takehiko the last room on the right since the room next to Sango's was already prepared for Kamiko (A.N. Kamiko means Superior Child). Everyone but Sesshomaru and Takehiko went to their own rooms to get dress for dinner.

"Once the festival is over I will have to see about getting suitable rooms set up of you Father. We may have to add onto the family wing if Inuyasha and his pack decided to stay," Sesshomaru informed Takehiko as he turned and walked to his room. "I will see you at dinner Father. I'm sure many of our guests will be surprised to see you."

"I'm sure you're right, Sesshomaru. Though the really smart ones will already know through servant gossip and would have surely felt my youki when I was brought back."

"Not necessarily, Father. I have a barrier up around the study. It's a rather interesting one inspired by the Miko Kagome. She told me of this thing in her time called a two way mirror. It is a mirror from one side while a window from the other. I used the same principle to create a new barrier that allows me to know what is going on outside the study without anyone else knowing what takes place inside the study. As such no one outside the study felt your youki before you suppressed it. The new barrier makes it much harder for my enemies to spy on me. Best of all, the new barrier completely closes off the room once I leave it and there are only a few people who are able to enter the room when I am not present." Sesshomaru informed Takehiko in a smug tone of voice.

"Good, dinner will be most entertaining then. Who took over the Northern Lands after I sealed Ryūkotsusei? And is Hideki still the Southern Lord?"

"Lord Satoshi, a water dragon youkai is now the Northern Lord. Lord Hideki is indeed still the Southern Lord. I believe you and I are the only ones who have ever been able to outwit that old kitsune. His daughter died about 60 years ago; no one has seen her mate or her son since then. I heard that her daughter has been searching for them since she returned from the continent. She was traveling and hadn't even known that her mother had taken a mate until she returned 50 years ago," Sesshomaru replied.

"I remember her, Lady Itazura. She was born a little over two hundred years after I was. So I guess we would be about the same age now. Huh, I guess she was right when she used to tell me that she would catch up to me in age. Well, we best get ready for dinner," Takehiko said as a servant arrived with a couple changes of clothes. With that he and Sesshomaru headed into their rooms.

Just as Sesshomaru thought, when his father entered the dining room the entire room went silent, a few beings fainted and the servants, who had already been informed by the gossip grape vine, all struggled not to laugh at the looks of shock, joy, or in some cases terror, on the faces of the guests. A few beings that had once been on bad terms with Takehiko actually fled from the palace, which caused the rest of the guests to laugh. Lord Hideki and Lord Satoshi both kept their composer and welcomed Takehiko back. It was a dinner that no one would forget.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6

**First Day of the Festival: Kamiko Arrives**

The first day of the festival started with a flurry of activity. Rin and Shippo, being the energetic, lively children that they are, woke up at the crack of dawn. They then proceeded to wake up all the ningen adults, since all those of youkai blood were already awake for the day, by slamming open doors and yelling excitedly that the festival was starting and they had to get up. Though the awakening was sudden and rather rude, the members of Inuyasha's pack were more amused than irritated at the children's antics. Kagome sent the children to gather their clothes for the day and told them to meet her at the hot spring and they could bathe together. A few minutes later Sango and Kagome joined Rin and Shippo and after lighting the privacy lantern the four bathed, which took longer than normal since the children started a water fight. Their laughter was heard by all the others in the wing and everyone had amused smiles on their faces, even Sesshomaru who allowed himself to express his emotions when alone or with those he considered family.

After everyone was bathed, even Inuyasha took one, and ready for the day they all headed down to the dining hall for breakfast. The only ones in the dining hall who were not part of Sesshomaru and Inuyasha's pack were Yoake and Kouga. While they were waiting for breakfast to be served Sesshomaru explained to Yoake how Takehiko had come back and informed her that her mother's soul could finally rest in peace. Yoake was very grateful to everyone who had helped set her mother free. As thanks she offered them all pack status, which they gratefully accepted. As honorary members of Kouga and Yoake's wolf pack they would be able to receive help from any of the other wolf packs in Japan should they need it. The servants had just arrived with breakfast when Jaken opened the door.

"Milord, the sentries have just reported that your mother, Lady Kamiko, will be arriving at the gates in fifteen minutes. Shall this lowly servant escort her here, or will Milord be meeting her at the gates?" Jaken asked.

"Escort her here and have another place set at the table. Then have a pot of chamomile tea prepared and brought to Mother as soon as she is seated. While we are eating send her personal servant, Chou, to Mother's rooms to unpack," Sesshomaru replied.

"Yes, Milord," Jaken said as he bowed low. He then turned with his head held high and left feeling important for proving his usefulness once again to his Lord.

"Son, will you like me to adjourn to my room until you have had the chance to inform Kamiko of my return?" Takehiko inquired.

"That will not be necessary, Father. I am sure mother has already heard of your return. She still has her mirror and likes to spy, I mean checkup, on Jovan and I often," Sesshomaru informed him.

"Did your mother ever find a mate, or is she still sore that I refused to let our parents force us to mate?" Takehiko asked as they waited for Kamiko's arrival.

"She hasn't mated yet, but I believe that she has finally come to understand why you refused a mating and only agreed to a breeding contract. I believe her problem with your mating with Izayoi was due to her vanity more than her dislike of ningens. Perhaps now that Jovan has grown up and moved in here she will be more willing to find a mate." Sesshomaru answered.

"Last time I spoke with Lady Mother," Jovan said, "She told me that she missed having children around. I wouldn't be surprised if she tries her hand at matchmaking just so you and I give her some grandchildren she can spoil. I just hope that she is as accepting of Inuyasha as she is of me."

"Imōto, I don't think that will be too much of a problem. Mother will take one look at Inuyasha's ears and that will be that. Otōto you might want to watch out, Mother has a habit of rubbing Jovan's ears whenever she can. Mother grew rather fond of puppy ears," Sesshomaru warned.

"Keh," Inuyasha scoffed, his face taking a faint pink tint, "what is it with women always wanting to mess with my ears?"

"We'll Inuyasha," Sango replied, "your ears look so soft and cute that we can't help wanting to pet them. It's not our fault that we want to touch soft and cute things."

"Yep, that's one of the reasons I just love grooming Shippo's tail," Kagome added. "His tail is just too cute to resist. Heck if I wasn't sure that Sesshomaru would kill me for it, I would have pet his tail as soon as I saw him, like I did with your ears when I first saw you sleeping and pinned to the Sacred Tree."

"It is a good thing you didn't, Miko. Touching a youkai's tail is a very intimate act and is only acceptable for member of the youkai's pack and the youkai's mate. This Sesshomaru would not have been pleased had you touched my tail when we first meet." Sesshomaru informed her.

"Well, since you are part of Inuyasha's pack, that makes you and your other friends part of our pack now that my dear cousins are starting to get along," Chūjitsuna said. "Sesshomaru has final say on who is included as pack now because he is the Alpha of the pack. Each male can start their own pack, but all their packs fall under the rule of the Alpha of the pack."

"So because Inuyasha adopted us as his pack, and Sesshomaru has accepted Inuyasha as well as us that makes us part of the whole pack then?" Kagome asked.

"Yes, Miko, that is correct. However, this Sesshomaru's tail is still off limits. Not even Mother is allowed to touch this Sesshomaru's tail anymore," Sesshomaru said, Yoake giggled quietly, knowing how uncomfortable Sesshomaru was with the conversation.

"I'll let you pet my tail if you want to, Kagome," Chūjitsuna whispered in Kagome's ear. Of course this made Kagome blush which caused a few people to raise their eyebrows.

"Ok, enough with all the talk about tails and petting, the hentai over there," Inuyasha said pointing at Miroku, "is grinning like a baka. Sesshomaru, did you warn all your female servants about him?"

"Indeed, Inuyasha, I warned them. They agreed to refrain from killing the monk if he acted up, but I will not stop them from maiming him if his 'Cursed' hand should act up. Perhaps if one of them should remove said hand it would cure the monk of his affliction," he replied.

"Gentlemen, I am but a humble monk with the purest of intentions," Miroku stated in an innocent tone that no one believed. Those in the room who knew him best just rolled their eyes and laughed, while Takehiko, Yoake, and Chūjitsuna gave them a baffled look and Miroku gave a small shrug of his shoulders.

"Yeah right you hentai. I'm surprised you haven't asked Lady Yoake to bear your child yet," Inuyasha said with a smirk.

"Indeed, during the few months I traveled with your group he propositioned so many women that I lost count, and that was before the taijiya broke off their engagement. Though while they were engaged she was the only one who he groped," Sesshomaru added. "I am surprised that the monk has survived all the beatings he received."

They bantered back and forth good naturedly until Jaken reentered the dining hall and announced Lady Kamiko's arrival. Kamiko had long silver white hair partly pulled up into two buns at the back of her head that fell into ponytails held in place by coral pink combs, amber colored eyes, one magenta stripe on each cheek, a magenta streak on both eyelids, and the same crescent moon as Sesshomaru. She was wearing a three layered kimono, the outer kimono was magenta with yellowish orange flowers, the middle layer was turquois in color and appeared to have a wave like pattern to it, and the inner layer was pure white. Her tail was draped around her shoulders like a shawl and she wore a black pearl necklace with a gold pendant with what looked like a large black opal in the center of it. She looked a lot like a daintier, female version of Sesshomaru. She also showed more emotion than her son did. As she entered she gave Sesshomaru a small bow and went to sit in the empty seat.

"Sesshomaru, Jovan, it is nice to see you both. Takehiko, it has been a long time. This one wonders how you have managed to return to life," Kamiko inquired. Her voice was as beautiful as her appearance, though when she addressed Takehiko it was a little cooler than when she had addressed her children.

"Kamiko, you have not changed a bit, still as lovely as a rose. I came back due to the Shikon Jewel. The young miko, Kagome," he explained as he nodded his head towards Kagome, "made a wish without thinking. It was her heartfelt wish that I was alive again that brought me back. I do hope that we will be able to be friends this time."

"Perhaps, I would not like to upset my pups by arguing with their father," she replied before turning back to Sesshomaru. "So, pup, when are you going to find a mate and give me grand pups to play with? I know that Jovan is already being courted by Lord Kouga, so hopefully I'll get some from her soon, but you should have taken a mate and produced an heir centuries ago."

"Mother, this Sesshomaru will take a mate when this one is ready to. This Sesshomaru would appreciate if you would not try to 'help' this one find a mate again," he answered sternly.

"What happened last time she tried to help," Kouga asked.

"Last time she trapped this Sesshomaru in a room with six females in heat. Mother was fortunate that this Sesshomaru was able to break through her barrier before this one was forced to kill the women to keep them from attacking this Sesshomaru," he said with a small, barely noticeable shudder.

"If I remember correctly that was about two hundred and fifty years ago," Yoake added with a giggle. "Sesshomaru had just reached maturity and Takehiko had left him in charge of the palace while he attended a meeting of the other lords. I think I was the only female he would allow near him for about twenty years or so after that incident."

"This Sesshomaru did not find it funny. Those females were insane and were only interested in this one's wealth and title. This Sesshomaru refuses to mate a weak female who only wants power she could not achieve on her own. The female this one will mate is strong enough to stand with this Sesshomaru and protect the Western Lands at this Sesshomaru's side," he stated.

"Yeah, I can't see Sesshomaru mating anyone who won't accept his ward either," Inuyasha said. "Even I can tell that he cares about the kid and there aren't a lot of youkai females out there that would tolerate a hanyou, let alone a human in their family."

"I'm sure that Sesshomaru will find who he's looking for," Kagome said, she seemed to be the only one who caught the slip Sesshomaru made when he was taking about his future mate. She believed that he knew who he was going to mate. "Now that Naraku and the Jewel are gone we will all have more time to figure out what we want to do with our lives."

"If this one leaves it to you to find a mate, this one will die of old age before getting any grand pups," Kamiko sighed as she cast Sesshomaru a sad look.

"Mother, do not exaggerate. You still have several centuries before you even reach old age. This Sesshomaru does not intend to wait that long before claiming a mate," Sesshomaru said. Even though his expression didn't change, everyone could tell that Sesshomaru was starting to get irritated.

"Oi, Lady Kamiko," Inuyasha said to draw her attention off Sesshomaru before he exploded. "What was Jovan like when she was growing up?"

Kamiko looked over at Inuyasha for the first time. The second her eye landed on his twitching puppy ears her eyes widened and in a flash she was out of her seat. Before anyone could blink she was standing behind Inuyasha rubbing and playing with his ears. She was like a cat on catnip.

"Kawaii! Puppy ears, soft and furry puppy ears. Oh how this one has missed petting puppy ears," Kamiko squealed in excitement as she rubbed her cheek against one of Inuyasha's ears. Poor Inuyasha turned about as red as his fire rat clothes and after a brief struggle managed to pull away from the puppy ear crazed female. Since he couldn't very well hurt her, and yelling at her would only get him sat by Kagome, he did the only thing a self-respecting hanyou could do in this situation. He hid behind the youkai slayer for protection.

"Mother, you will refrain from assaulting this Sesshomaru's siblings," Sesshomaru ordered. While it was funny to see his otōto hiding behind a ningen woman for protection, he was also grateful to Inuyasha for trying to redirect her attention.

"Oh, Sesshomaru, you never let this one have fun anymore. This one misses having a pup to play with. Jovan was always dragging the most interesting things home. I remember one time when she caught that baby poisonous snake youkai and brought it home. Luckily it didn't bite her, but she gave her nanny quiet a fright when she showed it to her. I had no idea that a mongoose youkai would be afraid of a little snake youkai. After all it was only six feet long, since it was still a baby," Kamiko reminisced.

"I remember that. When Lady Mother found out she made me take it back to where I found it. I wanted to keep it, but she said I couldn't," Jovan added with a little pout on her face. "She would not allow me to keep any of the pets I brought home."

"That, dear imōto, is because the "pets" you would bring back were too dangerous to keep. Mother did not want to wake up one morning and find that you had been eaten by the "pet" harpy you wanted to raise," Sesshomaru said.

"I'm sure if I had been given the opportunity to train her, she would have made an excellent attack pet," she stated while pretending to be offended. "Besides, if anything had happened I was perfectly capable to deal with the situation. I was trained to be able to defend myself."

"If you say so, imōto," Sesshomaru said as he stood up. "The festival will begin soon, so this Sesshomaru must tend to some last minute details. Mother, when you are finished Chou will be here to show you to your room."

"That pup can never sit still for more than thirty minutes," Kamiko sighed after Sesshomaru left. "It's no wonder he hasn't settled down yet."

"Kamiko, perhaps it would be best to let the matter of Sesshomaru mating and giving us grand pups rest for a while," Takehiko suggested. "I too, would like grand pups, but Sesshomaru has enough to deal with right now without people trying to "help" him find a mate."

"I suppose you could be right. He has always been a stubborn pup, too," she replied with a sigh. "I suppose I could always help Inuyasha find a mate, since Jovan is already being courted by Kouga. Or maybe I should help my dear nephew."

Chūjitsuna and Inuyasha both paled when she said this, while the rest just tried not to laugh. Kamiko had a look in her eyes that, quite frankly, scared the heck out of the two males.

"No need, dear aunt," Chūjitsuna quickly stated as he came up with an idea to get out of the spotlight. "I'm quite sure that I will be able to find a mate on my own. Besides, I think that perhaps you should help the monk. From what I've heard he has been looking for a mate for a while, but has been unable to find one."

"Yeah," Inuyasha said with a smirk. "Miroku has had very little luck finding a mate. I'm sure that an expert such as yourself would have no problem finding a match for our dear friend an pack mate."

Kamiko looked over at Miroku and studied him for a few seconds. At this time Miroku was too stunned by this turn of events to say anything. Kamiko stood up and walked over to get a better look at him.

_'He's not a bad look ningen,'_ she thought. _'His black hair is common for ningens, but those violet eyes are quite arresting. I cannot tell with the robes he wears, but he seems to be fit.'_

**_'He also smells nice. Like juniper after a rainstorm,"_** her beast stated. **_'We always liked that scent.'_**

_'We've never had much to do with ningens, but since this one is pack we can make an exception. Besides, it could be fun finding a mate for him. Maybe if we find him an inu youkai mate he'll let us play with his puppy-eared pup,' _she responded.

**_'Kawaii, little violet eyed, black haired pups, so kawaii. We need pups to play with, I miss them,'_** Kamiko's beast said in agreement.

While Kamiko was looking over Miroku and discussing the idea with her inner beast, Miroku was trying to figure out how he managed to get volunteered. He thought about trying to get out of it, but then thought, why not. It's true that he hasn't had much luck on his own, and now that Naraku and his curse were gone he knew that he had a future to look forward to. Besides, he might get lucky enough to get trapped in a room with six beautiful women, like Sesshomaru was.

"Alright, monk Miroku," Kamiko said, pulling Miroku from his thoughts. "This one will help you find a mate. Meet me in my room in an hour and we will get started."

Kamiko then turned and left the room. Chou met her at the door to the dining hall and escorted her to her room.

"Chou, in an hour my latest project will arrive. Make sure that you have everything ready before he arrives. He is a ningen monk, so you will have to pull out a change of clothes for him as well. Something in blue or violet to bring out his eyes would be good," Kamiko instructed her servant.

"Will we be needing the restraints for this one, Milady?" Chou asked.

"I don't think they will be necessary, but have them on had just in case. Miroku doesn't seem to be as unwilling as Sesshomaru was when I was trying to help him," Kamiko replied as she stripped out of her kimono and slide between the silk sheets on the futon. "Wake me when everything is prepared, all that traveling has made me weary."

"Yes, Milady," Chou answered as she went to do Kamiko's bidding.


End file.
